Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Thanks for stopping by today to find out who is the lucky winner
of Zva’s prize package from our August blog hop. (If you missed the hop,
its not too late to catch all of the wonderful projects created by
members, just click HERE.)

The winner from my Blog is Cindy Edwards!! Congrats!!

Cindy, please PM me with your addie so that Zva can get your prize out!!
The rest of the winners can be found on Zva's Blog

Monday, August 27, 2012

If you have arrived here from Karen's blog, you're on the right track!!

Zva
Creative and our talented Design Team welcome you to join us for our August
Blog Hop! We are happy to have you join us and hope you enjoy all that we have
to share with you along the way!

The Blog Hop begins at Zva Creative's blog! Be
sure head on over to check it out! Leave a comment there for a chance to
win an extra prize package just for visiting the blog and telling us that you
stopped by!You will also
find a complete
list of all the participating blogs there (in case there is a glitch along the
way).

As you know, Zva offers many beautiful color
groupings for pearls, flowers and crystals. We want to make sure that
they shine bright for you, so each designer was will be sharing a creation
using a specific color or color combination on their blog hop project. If
you like what you see you can find a list of stores and online retailers that
sell Zva HERE.

The binding technique is a little different on this mini. I will be doing a Ustream on how I created it in a couple o weeks. I used Seam Binding to tie it all together and you can find my tutorial on How to Hand Dye Vintage Seam Binding to match anything. I used Glimmer Mist in Twilight for my ribbon here.

Here is a view of the spine of the mini.

The smaller flowers started out white and cream, and I just added a
spritz of Glimmer Mist in Twighlight to color them . That is the beauty
of the white flowers.
mini rose -7/8" or 23mm -White FLBK-03CB-122]mini rose -7/8" or 23 mm -Cream [FLBK-03CB-132]

The beautiful bling I used on the cover is Fantasia and they come in 2in the pack. A light colored swirl and a darker blue colored swirl.

I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder on card stock and rubbed it with some Inka Gold to highlight the raised parts making it look like an old leather book.

I just love the color of this bling. I was able to get a really close match on the flowers.

Here is the back of the album. It is not yet finished as I would like to include some kind of journaling on it. This is the darker blue swirl from the double pack called "Fantasia" 2.

And just a closeup of the beautiful rich blue color.

If you would like to play along with our design
team, just follow along the blog path. I am linking to one of the Zva
designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be
inspired along the way!

Hidden on FIVE of the designer's blogs is a Zva
Creative prize package! Winners will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's
important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The
Blog Hop starts today, August 27th and runs through midnight US Eastern
Standard Time on Tuesday, August 28th.

The 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, August
29th on Zva Creative's blog. We will do our best to notify each winner, but
it's best if you can pop in to Zva's blog on Wednesday.

All you need to do is leave a comment on this
Blog Hop post... you do not need to leave a comment on each and every
designer's blog post to qualify. However, the more times you comment along the blog
hop path, the more chances you will have to win.

We also thought it would be more fun to add even
more chances to win our blog hop prize! To increase your chances of
winning:

* Comment to let us know that you posted on your
Facebook page about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

* Comment to let us know that you
"tweeted" about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)

* Comment to let us know that you asked your
local store to carry Zva creative products. If they already do, that's
fantastic, maybe you can suggest other products that they don't carry.

*Hop over to Zva's blog and leave a comment there to tell us that you made it there!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Living on Long Island seems like so long ago. It was a fabulous place to grow up. I have so many wonderful memories of our vacations out in the Hamptons. Every year. Camping at it's best!! Stopping roadside to buy lobster and clams for our clambakes, crabbing in the bay for blueclaws and sitting at the table lined with newspaper and dumping them all out to shell...The butter would be clarified on the colemn stove and we would just sit and eat ...and eat...and eat...But sunning on the beach was the best. The pic in this LO is me, my little brother, and my son when he was about 8 months old. We found a baby crab and was trying to place it in Nickys hand...Oh the memories...
I used Swirlydoos August kit Vintage Traditions for this layout. I wanted to play with a little texture so I added some molding paste to the background. ...I also followed the Color Room Palette #124. I love the color combo using some of my favorite colors.

I didn't want to pile on a lot of elements. I wanted to keep it pretty clean and simple because I feel the texture alone goes a long way.

This wonderful brick technique was created with Liquitex Modeling Paste. My darling Swirly sister Barbara (Scrap2day) created the wonderful brick mask that I used on this layout. She made a few different sizes and designs for me. I love them. All because the Prima brick masks are no where to be found. Not even Prima has them. I will tell you that I love the Liquitex modeling paste so much better than the Golden brand.It dried white unlike the Golden. It has more of a chalky look rather than a waxy look. You can shave it like chalk, but it is much more durable. So to do the background I placed my mask down on the paper, used a palette knife to spread the paste on either ends of the paper, then while the paste was still wet, I carefully placed the mask over the bricks I just created, and lightly sprayed some Lindy's Stamp Gang MoonShadow Mist in Moonlit Mulberry over them to give it a little color and sheen. Easy easy. I also found that the Liquitex brand didn't warp my paper as much as the Golden did. I guess it is not as wet. I like it! Then when my LO was all done, I spritzed a little blue Glimmer Mist in Patina in random spots.
You could probably texurize the bricks a little before the paste dries. That would be neat! (golly, did I just say neat???) lol

I used the wonderful Maya Road Chip board letters that came in the kit for my title. I just sprayed them with some Lindys Moonshadow Mist in Moonlit Mulberry. Love that stuff as much as my Glimmer Mist!. I used pop dots to raise my layers.

I painted some molding paste on my flowers as well. Just to give them a little frosty look, as if sea foam kissed the petals.

I used Hemp to frame the photo. A light weight jute would do just as well. Hemp smells weird. Kind of like a wet dog smell...lol...The pic is me, Nick (my son) when he was about 9 months old, and my little
brother Danny at the beach on Long Island where I grew up. The year?
1987. Cedar Point, East Hampton. I Photoshopped the lighthouse in for
more visual interest.

Here is another close up of the flowers. I added a couple pieces of gauze because I didn't have fish netting. Hmmm. Placing it on my "need" list. I just placed a few tiny pearls here and there.

I hope you visit Swirlydoos Gallery to see what the rest of the Design Team and the artists have done with this wonderful kit. From heritage to totally shabby Chic. It is that versatile.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Having gone to CHA last month left me with a lot of mojo!! It kind of put me back in the flower making mode again. I also pulled out my Cricut Expression that was wrapped in cobwebs...JK...It just needed a little push out of my cabinet. I just love my Iron Works 2 cartridge because there are so many beautiful designs. I am also addicted to Martha Stewarts punches, and that is the Rain Drop design you see around the page. Despite my daughters love of tattoos and her love for the MotoCross sport, she is a girly girl. So pink it is for this LO featuring Gabbie.
Vintage Traditions is the August Kit for Swirlydoos. Packed with beautiful product, I only added the Zva flourishes and leaves from my ZVA Creative DT products. Everything else is in the kit. I cut the design underneath my photo using the Cricut Iron Works 2 cart and colored it with GlimmerMist in Olive Vine and toned it down a bit with Timberline. The chip board letter in the kit was sprayed with the same 2 colors.

All of the bigger flowers were handmade. I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Pinecone for the roses and Tattered Florals underneath some of them. I toned down one of the pink peices in the card stock add on with Glimmer Mist in Vintage pink and toned it down furthere using Lindy's Moon Shadow Mist in Moonlit Mulberry. I cut apart the Petaloo vines and stuck then here and there. The leaves are ZVA 36pc leaves #I - 2" - [FL-04CA-110].

Monday, August 13, 2012

At Swirlydoos, we have a Round Robin Challenge every month. It is the perfect challenge for those who have misplaced their MOJO, want a reason to Scrap lift without the ramifications, or just need a jump start to scrap. This month, I was in week 2 following Cheryl. Great inspiration!! Using this months kit was perfect for the black and white picture of my Grandmother who just passed away a few weeks ago. Lord knows I miss her more than anything!! She was a seamstress and taught me how to sew at an early age.. I was making Barbie Doll cloths when I was 6 or 7 years old. She would always save her finest "scraps" in a brown paper grocery bag, and when we went to Brooklyn on Sundays, she would always have that bag ready for me. Complete with cones of thread and a stash of needles. Laces, silks, organza, zippers and buttons...oh my...But the treat was to be able to sew on her Singer Factory Machine!!! Loved working the treadle as she fed the fabric through. When I was 16, my parents bought me a Factory Singer at a factory closing down in Brooklyn. My grandmother made sure one was reserved for me. I still have that Machine, it still works, but I use it in my foyer as a conversation piece. My sweet husband attached a beautiful mirror that he stained the same color as the wood on the sewing desk surface and I have my family photo's displayed on it. It will always remind me of my grandmother. I wonder if her machines are still in her house in Brooklyn. She lived with my parents the last few years of her life. I never asked her, as she stopped sewing years ago. I would love to have them. The photo below is one of the last I took of her a few months ago. She was tired. At 97 years old, she was so tired...♥

I cropped the photo and turned it black and white for this layout.

I love the Kaisercraft flowers in the kit. I enhanced them by creating my own flowers and just putting the Kaisercraft flowers in the middle. I used my trusty old Tattered Florals die.

The dress form represents the years I spent sewing with my grandmother. She taught me everything I know about sewing. In high school, I failed the final in my HomeEconomics class because I didn't

know how to thread the school machine. But I could sew a complete outfit better than anyone in my class!!

Just a close look at the Kaisercraft flowers. I die cut the leaves with white card stock using one of my favorite Spellbinders dies. I spritzed them with Glimmer Mist in Olive Vine and a pinch of Suede.

The white photo mat was cut with my Cricut Expression using the Ornamental Iron 2 cart. The butterflies are from the file I created for this kit. This time I used Rock Candy Distress crackle paint on them.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

If
you came here from Rae's blog, then you are on the right
track. If not, go back to Swirlydoos' blog and start from there. We
have some amazing projects for you to see today !!

I decided to take the kit and create a mini album with it. I thought it would be perfect to take some of my family photo's and put them in this project. The hard part is going to be choosing which photo's I would like to include. I have only added a few little trinkets from my own stash, and as the mini evolves, I will add more.

The mini is made out of 3.5 x 6.75 inch paper bags that I purchased at Michaels. I did a Mini Album Ustream video on how to make the basic pages for the mini.I learned how to from Stephanie Miller during a Prima Live class. There are lots of pockets and sleeves to place tags, pics and ATC cards in.

This is the inside of the cover. It has a pocket to place pictures or tags. The outer flap of the cover can also be stuffed with pictures or tags as that is the opening flap of the paper bag. I do reinforced the cover and the back with card stock to give it little bit of body. You could also use card board to make it chunkier.

This is the second page, and as you can see i did place an ATC card in the inside flap created on the page. I used my Tim Holtz ATC & Corners die. I love it and it is the perfect size to slip into this spot. The photo corners are part of the die and are so sweet!! Give it the perfect finishing touch. I sprayed the corners with Smooch to give it a beautiful Mat finish. Just like a real photo corner. I created a small banner and strung it on some lightweight hemp cord and added a flower to top it off. The back can be used for a photo or some journaling.

The next page was created from the Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplates die. I love the size and it is perfect as a compliment to the mini. I covered it with card stock from the add on kit, then sprayed it with some Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink for shimmer. I added a button, a butterfly from the file I created for this months kit, and a frame that is in the main kit. There are LOTS of frames to punch out. I discovered Crystal Lacquer and will use it to paint the frame for a shiny lacquer finish.

I just added a few die cut Bitty Blossoms flowers and a journaling strip to this side of the tag. The tag was also reinforced with chipboard in between.

This page has another ATC that I created I chose to tie a piece of hemp around it for interest and texture. Love the beautiful lacy trim to the pocket flap.

Not sure what I am going to do with this page yet so I left it plain.

I created another ATC card for the little flap pocket. I attached a wide eyelet to the ATC and strung a piece of hand dyed Seam Binding through it.

I left this page unadorned intentionally because I fell in love with the paper.

I die cut some Spellbinders shapes to create little in between pages. I covered chip board with card stock and sprayed them with Glimmer Mist in Vintage Pink.

Here are the 2 pages opened up. i attached a small butterfly to each page. They can be used for attaching pics or may be used for journaling.

This page has a flap pocket for tags or another ATC card.

Just another page left unadorned. A tag can be slipped into the top of the pocket envelope that is created with the paper bag.

This is another Tim holtz Tag that I die cut and covered with card stock, and using a Crafters Workshop mask, created the page with thick Gesso. You could also use Texture or molding paste. When it dried, I sprayed the whole page with Glimmer Mist in 2 colors. Vintage Pink and Suede. I colored all of the seam binding using the same colors.

I used another punch out frame for this page. I added a few little flowers leftover from the last kit and a butterfly.

This is the back of the mini. I decided to create a banner to drape the back spelling out the word Family. I used some hemp cord to create the banner.

Just another view of the banner on the back of the mini.

A close up of the bookplate.

A close up of the binding side of the mini. I used wide eyelets for the holes that I punched using my Cropadile. I love that tool and use it all of the time. The Tim Holtz trinket chain hangs from a hole I created in the cover and I added the small heart to the end for a dangle. I used the lace, some hemp cord and the hand dyed seam Binding for the trims.

Just a closer look at the sweet heart dangling from the chain.

You
have until midnight, eastern time, on Sunday, August 12th to complete
the hop. Winners will be announced on the Swirlydoos Blog on Monday the
13th. In order to qualify to win here is what you need to do:1:
Visit all of the blogs and leave a comment on each. This way we know
you were there. Become a follower if you're not already. Take your time. There are REALLY beautiful things to see along the way.2: Before you leave each blog, look for the “special” words and write it down. Once you have visited all the blogs and collected all the special words, they will create a sentemce. 3:
Finally, go back to the Swirlydoos blog and leave a comment letting us
know how much fun you had, tell us the sentence that was created with
all of the special words you collected. Can't wait to hear from you.